as yet another young man comes home in a wooden box, can someone please try to convince me just why we are in Afghanistan?

[Bobbisox]

Why will none of our so called leaders and politicians take the bull by the horns and get Britain out of there, I haven't heard one valid argument why we have young British men and women fighting the Taliban
Drugs? it is even more widespread than when we went in
Security? we are less secure now more than ever + the money spent fighting a fruitless war would be better spent on securing our shores.
what a waste of young lives, I accept you join the forces to fight for your country...is this "fighting for ones country"? I feel desperately sorry for all of the people who have lost loved ones there....for?

Bobbi ♥

[steg]

what better way to die than to die as a warrior, to die for your country, i salute them

[Bobbisox]

so do I steg but dying for whose country?
we aren't at war with Afghanistan

[Sandy-Wroe]

The two Islamic countries that present the greatest threat to the west are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Yet we suck up to both of them.
The deaths of brave young service people in Afghanistan will be ultimately seen as futile.

[steg]

but we are at war with the Taliban and other Terrorist groups who do not believe in borders or country's and would kill you, me our friends and family and any one else that was not one of them

[theonlyone]

Bobbi i do agree but it's all down to the uk government . Not our war and
Blair & Bush instigated it , the Uk and USA are now broke but Blair has
made £20 million !!!

[Bobbisox]

whilst I undersatnd that point steg, millions of pounds would be better spent on securing our own borders against terrorism
very good point Sandy

[Bobbisox]

exactly t.o.o
while Dubya rides off into the Texas sunset with a bag full of cash, our Mr Slimeball is raking it in as a Peace envoy for the middle east
evidence of peace ?

[askyourgran]

I think it was George w Bush and his poodle Blair that started this when they brought down Saddam Hussain, it seems to have opened a real can of worms. Those people are medaeval in their customs and habits. The money from drugs fund the Taliban. I salute all those brave young men and women over there. I agree we should be protecting our own shores and calling a halt to immigration and all the money being spent on them.

Feel better after that.

[Bobbisox]

hello ask, thats where it should start, the "I" word they are terrified for some reason to address this, put a halt on it like France and Italy have done, get those brave young people home and only when we are at war should they be called upon to defend their own country

[theonlyone]

Blair &Bush should be treated as war criminals , they sanctioned the
deaths of thousands of innocent people .

[Bobbisox]

I don't like either of the askyourgran, Blair looks as though he has slithered out of the Iraq enquiry too

[askyourgran]

I think the Iraq enquiry was just a PR exercise, nothing will come of it. I would love to see Blair and that dreadful wife of his get their comeuppance, as for Monsewer Mandelson and Brown, I sincerely hope the gravy train stops very soon for them

[jno]

askyourgran, we invaded Afghanistan (in the wake of 9/11) before we went into Iraq, and for different reasons. In the former we needed to curb the Taliban, which we have half done; in the latter we just didn't like Saddam (but quite liked cheap oil). We might even have succeeded in Afghanistan if we hadn't decided to head for Baghdad as well, thus dividing our resources.

I doubt that anyone joins the forces to fight for their country: nobody's attacked us since 1939, the fighting since then has always been decided on by us. People join the army to fight anyone the government tells them to, and that always means they may die. If they don't want to do it they should become bankers and get rich.

[mike11111]

The British government fought 3 Afghan wars in the 19 C - all to no avail

The Russians invaded Afghanistan in the late 70s and stayed for some 13 years - again all to no avail.

If the British Empire at the peak of its powers and the mighty Soviet Union (as it then was) were unable to subdue Afghanistan, what chance have we now?

[mazie]

I dont think we stand a chance and why would we? I would rather we all put our own houses in order, before we start on someone else's. 9/11 was a great excuse for all the pious governments to knock 8 bells of whatsit out of countries they really dont even understand. Talking might have been a starting point. But, no, we invade, wait and then appoint Mr. B Liar to negogiate. Madness. We do of course, think about all our young men and women. What about all the young children and women and young men that were victims in their own country though no fault of their own.Sad and criminal, in my opinion. No wonder they hate us :o(

[Bobbisox]

mazie that is very well said
to take your point jno you join the forces and take a pledge to defend Queen and country in the event of being invaded only now it is always us doing the invading !